My big password manager switch happened after a close call

I used to keep all my passwords in a notes app on my phone for like 3 years. Felt fine because I had a lock screen code. Then last month I left my phone at a gas station in Fresno and someone got into it before I could remote wipe it. They didn't even need to break my lock screen, they just plugged it into a laptop and pulled data off through USB. I never thought about that being a thing. Now I use Bitwarden with a real master password and turned off USB data access on my phone. Anyone else only learn this stuff after something bad happened?

3 comments

3 Comments

fionanguyen2d ago

Wow that's a rough way to learn that lesson. Guess the gas station hacker got a free phone and your entire digital life for the price of a USB cable.

webb.hannah2d ago

Yeah, "free phone and your entire digital life" hits different when you realize how much stuff is just sitting on those things. @fionanguyen i've seen people lose years of photos and contacts from that exact scenario. It's wild how a quick charge can turn into a full blown identity theft situation. A cheap power bank or even a charging-only cable is way safer, i swear.

kai8391d ago

Wait, hold up. A whole phone just gone like that? lmao that's insane. I mean I knew about those sketchy public charging stations but hearing it actually happen to someone is wild. Like did they seriously just plug in and the hacker had their whole phone backed up in seconds? That's some spy movie level stuff. And for a gas station hacker to be running that kind of operation, he's probably got a setup with a laptop and special cables ready to go. Honestly makes me wanna just carry my own charger brick everywhere now, no more free juice.